


The Best in Him

by Scoobydoo1021



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Osdrum
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-29
Updated: 2016-02-29
Packaged: 2018-05-24 00:57:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6135913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scoobydoo1021/pseuds/Scoobydoo1021
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just about to fall asleep, Clara notices something fall out of the sky and goes to investigate. Instead of a meteor, she is shocked to find a man. Seeing no harm, she brings him into her home. Unfortunately for her, she just brought in one of the most dangerous men in the universe into her home. Will he harm her, or will love prevail? Osdrum!<br/>--------------------------------------<br/>"It was Tuesday when it happened, the night he came.  The ‘he’ that’s being referred to may not be the ‘he’ that you’re thinking of.  No, that was another night, another story; a night in which The Doctor came and took her away in his magic box.  Clara has been traveling with him, with The Doctor, and once every few days he would take her away from her normal life, to see the stars; but not this night.  This is the night where Clara meets the man that changed her life."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is also posted on my fanfiction.net and Wattpad accounts. I am taking a break form continuing this story (due to school), but I am not abandoning it and I will continue once I have the time. :)

It was Tuesday when it happened, the night he came. The 'he' that's being referred to may not be the 'he' that you're thinking of. No, that was another night, another story; a night in which The Doctor came and took her away in his magic box. Clara has been traveling with him, with The Doctor, and once every few days he would take her away from her normal life, to see the stars; but not this night. This is the night where Clara meets the man that changed her life.

* * *

 

Clara was in her room, just about to go to bed. She got back from traveling with The Doctor a few days ago. He picks her up every Saturday and drops her back off every Sunday. Its Tuesday now, she hates waiting this long, but she has a job to keep up with; those kids aren't going to teach themselves. She was just about to put the covers over herself when her attention got drawn to her window. Just above the tree line, there was a cloud with lightning swelling up inside it. _Oh, there must be a storm coming in._ She thought to herself. She got up from her bed to close her window so the rain wouldn't come in. As she was closing her window, she looked at the cloud. The lightning was turning blue now; no wait, now it's green! _What is going on?!_ Clara thought.

The colors in the cloud kept changing. Blue to green to yellow to orange to red. The colors sped up, making it into a big blur. Clara's heart rate sped up as she became memorized by the colors. Just then a ball of light shot out of the cloud. It spiraled to the ground hitting a few trees along the way then crashed into the forest. Without thinking, Clara ran from her window (still not closed might I add) and raced down the stairs out her front door. Adrenalin rushed through her as she ran past the street and into the dark woods. The mud slowed her down a bit and the sticks cut her feet, but she didn't notice; she was too focused on what had landed there. She slowed her pace when she reached the clearing.

The trees were all blackened and burnt from with a few branches clinging to the trees, trying not to fall to the ground; some trees were completely knocked over. There was smoke everywhere; it blurred Clara's vision and it smelled like burnt wood and leaves making her cough. Once it cleared a bit, Clara could see a massive crater in the center of this destruction. Hesitantly, she approached the crater. She gazed down into it; realizing what was there she gasped, instead of there being a meteor, there was a man.

"Oh my gosh!" She said as she got on her knees and positioned herself to get a closer look. He wasn't moving, but when she looked closer she saw his chest move up and down; he was still breathing, _thank God_ , she thought, thinking about it, she realized that there is no possible way an ordinary human could have survived that. _He must be an alien._ Although it was obvious that he couldn't be human, he didn't look like an alien; he wore a black hoodie with a red under shirt and black pants; they were all singed. From what she could tell, he looked young; she couldn't really make out any other details since he was covered in dirt and his face was all singed.

She looked closer at his wounds; they were inflamed, filthy and glowing. Glowing? Yes, they were glowing! A faint yellow light shined from them. Clara watched in amazement as the wounds started to heal themselves. In a few seconds, he was fully healed. Clara has only seen one person do that. The Doctor. _It can't be; he said he was the last! There aren't any more Time Lords!_ She looked back down at him, he was still unconscious. In an ordinary situation, where she would find some bloke passed out in the middle of the forest, she would call the police. This is definitely not one of those situations. _Well I can't just leave him here._ She thought, thinking of a way to bring him to her house. _I doubt that I can carry him; I guess I will just have to drag him then._ She moved around to the other side of him and grabbed him by his ankles, starting to drag him towards her house. _Hopefully there aren't any deer droppings on the way there._

* * *

 

She finally managed to drag the unknown Time Lord to her house, which took a while because his clothes kept getting caught on sticks and trees. She dropped his ankles when she entered her living room and plopped on her couch, exhausted. Realizing she just left an unconscious man in the middle of her floor, she slumped of the couch, grabbed his ankles again, and pulled him over to her couch. She let go of him and positioned herself so she can get him up on her couch.

Once he was on her couch, she walked into her kitchen and pulled out her cell phone. She looked through her contacts, finding the one she was looking for.

"Hello?" The man said on the other end.

"Doctor?"

"Oh! Hello Clara! I was just thinking about you! I was thinking on taking you to 1920 New Orleans! Very nice place, the best music of the century! You know there is even-"

"Yeah, that's nice Doctor, but I am in a bit of a problem... something happened."

"What is Clara?" His goofy tone changed to a more serious one.

"You said that you were the last of your kind, I don't think you are."

"Tell me, what is it?" His voice was a bit strained now, like he already had an idea of what she was about to say.

She them proceeded to tell The Doctor what had happened and what he looked like.

There was a pause, "Clara, that man is very dangerous, promise me you will leave him alone, don't go near him!" The Doctor said in a very serious tone.

"It's ok he's unconscious. I left him on my couch..." She said the last word doubtful as she turned around and noticed that he was no longer on her couch. She felt like her heart had stopped. She backed away and turned around.

Her phone fell to the floor with a crash, her heart rate quickened and she let out a gasp. The man was right in front of her. She was too scared to even move.

He cocked his head and smirked, "Hello, I'm The Master."


	2. Chapter 2

"Clara!?" She heard the muffled Doctor say from the phone next to her feet, he sounded panicked.

"Are you going to get that?"  The Master said in a cocky kind of way with a smirk.  Clara hesitantly reached down for her phone.  She grabbed it, putting it up to her face and turned her back towards him.

"I'm still here, I'm okay."  Clara whispered into the phone.

"Are you sure you're okay?  Where did you disappear too?"  The Doctor asked worried.  Clara turned her head to look behind at The Master.  He brought his finger to his lips with a conceited look in his eyes.  It made her heart jump.  Clara turned away from him again.

"Oh, uhh... I was making a soufflé and the smoke alarm went off."  Clara lied, catching on to The Master's hint.

"I didn't hear a smoke alarm."  The Doctor said, suspicious.

"It's um.. a new technology.. uh.. a silent smoke alarm." Behind her, The Master rolled his eyes.

The Doctor took a pause before answering, "Clara, if he's awake..."

"No, I swear it was the soufflé, he is still on the couch.  I promise I will leave and get as far away from him as possible."  She hated lying to him, but right now she was more worried to what would happen to her if she did tell the truth.

"Alright, just don't get into any trouble.  I will be there in a few seconds to check up on things."

"Oh no you _really_ don't need to do that I will be fine."  She really didn't want The Doctor getting involved.

"Clara!  He is dangero-" Clara hung up the phone before he even finished.  She knew if she kept fighting him, the conversation would probably go on for hours; she didn't have hours.

"A _silent_ smoke alarm," The Master said quietly to himself, "its always like The Doctor to pick up idiots."  Clara, a little annoyed and insulted, turned around to face him.

"I panicked," She said quietly, trying not to anger him, "you try thinking of an excuse right on the spot." 

"There's someone at the door, bad reception..." The Master replied matter-of-factly.  _Oh_ Clara thought to herself.  She felt so stupid.  Her annoyance made The Master smirk and for the first time, he noticed his surroundings.  The room that he was in was small; it had walls on all four sides and an opening leading to the living room.  The counter top hugged the wall and extended around the corner.  In the center, it had a small, round, wooden table with four chairs.  He started walking around the room. 

Clara watched as this man walked around her kitchen, he was so confident in the way he walked, considering he was in an unfamiliar house.  Once in a while he tapped his fingers four times in a row agents her countertop.  While he was doing this, he looked lost in thought, like he was doing the tapping unintentionally. 

As he walked along the path of the counter, his train of thought drifted and memories of the Time War flooded back to him; Rassilon, Daleks, people screaming... the drums; the constant drumming.  It never ends! _1,2,3,4...1,2,3,4...1,2,3,4._ Over and over again in his head!  Now that he is paying attention to it, it's getting louder and louder and louder!  They seemed to echo agents his skull and thump in his ears.  They were giving him a headache.

Clara watched his face; he looked sort of annoyed.  _What could he be thinking about?_ She thought.  She watched as he placed his fingers to his temples and doubled over, wincing.  In natural reflex, she ran over to him, trying to support him.

He shrugged her off, "I don't need your help!  What is it with you humans and your constant compassion!"   He snapped.  He slumped his way into the living room and plopped on the couch, putting his hands up to his temples.  _The drums!  They're so loud! 1,2,3,4...1,2,3,4...1,2,3,4.  Why can't they just go away?!_   Clara sneaked a look around the corner; he looks like he is in so much pain.

"Are you ok?"  She asked, even though he's rude and dangerous, she still doesn't like seeing anyone in pain.

"Just leave me alone."  He said annoyed.  She thought it would be best to do what he said.  She went back to the kitchen to try to think of a way to get away from him.

* * *

 

Meanwhile at the Torchwood institute, the employees were scampering all over the place.  Phones were going on and off, people were hustling off to computers, and everyone was talking all at once.

"Yes ma'am, we are analyzing the readings as we speak."

"Did you hear what locals are saying they saw in the sky?"

"These radiation levels are extraordinary!  I haven't seen anything like it!"

"Jack, come take a look at this!"

Jack Harkness strutted through the rambunctious bunch of people and over to the computer monitor, where he was called.  "Talk to me."

"At 9:00pm tonight, we got reports saying locals saw a meteor fall from a multi-colored cloud and land towards the east side of London."

"Well, lets get out there and look for it!" Jack replied, smacking him on the shoulder.

Jack headed to the supply station to get their equipment.  He picked up his blaster as his team walked in.

"What is it this time Jack?"  One of them asked at he picked up a radiation detector.

"Reports of an object crashing to the east side of London, nothing major."  He replied as her got his cartages.  The team continued to collect all of their gear.  Once they were done, they packed up the van and headed out.  They pulled the van up to the side of a forest where the radiation levels were the highest.  They took out some flashlights and shone them around the trees (it's still pretty dark out).

"Looks like it came through here."  One of the guys said, shining the flashlight at the burnt treetops.

"It's always got to be a creepy forest doesn't it?"  Jack said annoyed and trucked off into the dark woods.  The team followed him in.  They shined their lights and followed the radiation path and burnt trees.  As they went along, the damage got worse.  Eventually, they entered the clearing where the object _should_ have landed.

"There's nothing here!"  One of the guys said shinning his flashlight around.

"It could have evaporated as it entered the earth's atmosphere!"

"Well there's the crater, so something _was_ here!"

As his teammates were talking, Jack shined his flashlight on the ground and got closer to the crater; he noticed that there is a faint path line where it looks like something was dragged.

"Hey guys, come take a look at this!"  He yelled.  His team stopped yapping and slowly knelled over next to him.  "It looks like someone came here before us at took it."

"Should we follow it?"

"No, let's just go back and get some pizza," Jack said sarcastically,  "Of course we're going to follow it!"   He got up and led his teammates down the pathway, little did they know, the situation would be much worse than they bargained for.


	3. Chapter 3

_All right, now how do I get out of here?_   Clara thought to herself.  She had a window in her kitchen, but it's fairly old and if she opened it, it would probably make a noise.  She thought a little harder.  She could go out through the back door, but she would have to go through the living room where The Master is, so that idea's out of the way.  She peeked back out at The Master, he was still sitting there tense, his fingers were still up at his temples.  He was silently muttering to himself.  He ran his fingers through his hair, getting rid of some of the dirt, and reveling his almost white-blond hair.

_I wonder what happened to him._   Clara thought.  He was fine a while ago, and then he just sort of lost it.  Seeing that this would be her best chance to talk to him, and the fact that there's no possible way to get out of her house without him noticing, she cautiously made her way over to the couch and slowly sat down next to him.  He felt the couch sink next to him.  Coming back to reality, he turned to look at her.

"What?"  He hoarsely asked.  Now that he was up close and most of the dirt was gone, Clara could see more of his features; he had dark circles under his hazel eyes, an almost oval, but prominent jaw, and a bit of brown stubble on his chin fading up to his cheeks.  He looked very tired; Clara could say that he was sick. Besides the fact that he looked like he could collapse at any second, he was surprisingly good looking.  She must have been staring for too long.  "Are you incapable of talking?"  He asked

Clara snapped back into reality looking down then back up again.  "Uh, no... I was just wondering what that was all about."  She said waving back to the kitchen.  He looked away and took a moment before he responded.

"Ever since I was eight, I had this noise stuck in my head.  A drum beat."  While he said this, he quickly tapped his head four times.  He stopped for a moment and looked at her.  She looked confused.  He looked away and continued.  "It's always been there, every second of every hour of every day.  And every day it gets louder like it's calling to me.  Can't you hear it?"  He looked at her again; his face was pained and pleading.  Clara actually felt sorry for him.  At that moment she forgot who he was and just imagined what it would be like to have to endure that every day for the rest of her life.  No wonder he was so tired.

"No, sorry I can't hear it."  She answered.  He threw his arms up, annoyingly looked away, and got up and headed towards the kitchen.  She stared after him confused, and then she heard her fridge door open.  She scampered off the couch and into the kitchen.  Sure enough he was looking through her food.  "What are you doing?"  She asked a bit bewildered.

He turned around to look at her, "I'm hungry."  He said in an obvious tone.  He turned back and continued to dig through her fridge.

"You can't just take my food!"  Clara nearly yelled at him, annoyed.

He turned back around carrying a chunk of ham, headed towards her dinning room table.  As he passed her by, he looked at her in a smug kind of way.  "Tough."  He said.  He sat down and started to devour the food.  He didn't use any utensils; he just dug his hands into the meat and stuffed it into his mouth.

Clara never saw anyone eat so fast, in a mater of seconds it was gone.  He licked his fingers, finishing off his dish.  Clara could see some of the color return to his face.  He looked less tired and healthier.  She was just about to comment on it when her doorbell rang.

* * *

 

After about fifteen minutes of following the faint path, Jack and his crew exited the dark forest.  Jack shined his flashlight on the ground.  Concrete, no path to follow.  He raised his flashlight in front of him.  They ended up in a small suburb.

Jack turned towards his team, "Come on guys, it has to be in one of these houses.  Give me that radiation detector."  He grabbed the radiation detector and turned it on, reading it.  "Most of the radiation is coming from over here."  He said pointing to the right.  They headed off to that direction and started to knock on doors.  Always leading nowhere.

"What?  You can't just barge in!"

"I haven't left the flat since this morning."

"No sorry, I haven't seen anything strange lately"

All the houses were a dud.  Searching and finding absolutely nothing, although, Jack did get a few numbers.  They reached their last house.

"If this isn't it.... No it's got to be it."  Jack walked up to the door and rang the doorbell.

* * *

 

Clara looked towards her door.  _Who can it be at this hour?!_   Clara walked towards the door as The Master got up a searched for another snack.  Clara cautiously opened her door.

"Hello?"  She asked.  Standing before her was the most attractive man she ever saw, oh and there were a few others as well, but she didn't notice.

"Hi, Captain Jack Harkness.  You are?"  He spoke in a confident, American accent.  He reached his hand out.

"Clara, Clara Oswald."  She replied dazed, taking his hand.  "So, um, what brings to my house at this hour?"

"Oh just looking to have a good time."  He said winking at her.  "No actually we're here on official business."  He said with a more serious tone.  "We are with the Torchwood institute, if I may come in and ask you a few questions?"

"Oh actually..."

"Thanks."  He said pushing his way past her and into her house.  His mates followed him.

As Jack questioned Clara, his teammates searched her house.  "The radiation levels are high here."  One of them whispered to the other.

In the other room, The Master plastered himself against the door.  He knew about Torchwood, he wasn't to worried about them, except one their voices them sounded familiar, what was his name?  John?  Jem?  Whatever, it started with a "J."  Last time he ran into that guy, his plans we completely ruined!  He was with The Doctor and that Jones girl!  He was not going to let that happen again!  Suddenly, the doorknob started to turn.  The Master turned his head towards it; it was turning rapidly trying to get the door open.  Quickly, The Master thought of a plan.  Using his current state as an advantage, he rubbed his hands together until he created blue static.  He touched his hand to the knob sending blue electricity thought the metal.

Unfortunately for the man on the other end, the shock was so powerful it shot him backwards and knocked him to the floor.  The others heard his scream from the other room.  Jack, automatically assuming Clara was in on it, took her by the arm and handed her off to one of his guys and told him to put her in the truck.  She yelled and tried to fight them of, but they were too strong for her.

Jack and a few of his mates got their blaster and headed towards the scream.  When they got there, the door was burnt around the handle and latch was broken.  Below it laid one his teammates.  Jack kneeled down next to him a checked his pulse.  Dead.  Jack motioned to his mates that this was a very dangerous situation.  He loaded his blaster and slowly pushed the door open with his foot.

They slowly made their way into the room.  Nothing seemed out of the ordinary or out of place.  They went further into the room.  All of a sudden, a strip of blue lightning shot out and hit the guy on Jack's right.  Then immediately after that it shot back out and hit the guy on his left.  He glanced up from his friend towards the lightning.  Before him stood a man, his hands were glowing with blue sparks and his black hood was up, covering his face.

He rubbed his hands together creating more static and aimed it at Jack.  Blue lightning erupted out of his hands and headed straight for Jack, but Jack was too quick, he shot his blaster in the same direction at the same time.  Both the shots canceled each other out.  The man in the hood froze abruptly, out of shock.  He then quickly whipped his hood out off his head, reveling his identity.

Jack had definitely seen this man before.  Although, he looked a bit different, he wasn't the clean-cut brunet he had seen before.  Now he looked completely wrecked!  

Jack lowered his blaster, "Last time I saw you, you were dead."  He said remembering his last incident with him.

The Master nodded to him.  "So were you."  He replied with a smug smile.

Jack smiled without humor, "Ya, but you were suppose to stay that way."  He said as he quickly raised his blaster and shot at him.  The blast sent The Master flying back, making a dent in the wall.

Luckily for The Master, he had enough energy to keep him alive, but not enough to use as a weapon.  He slowly got up.  His body was covered in pain, but he ignored that.  His life force was burning up and he could barely stand.  His skin shimmered, reveling the blue sparks swarming his skeleton.  It only lasted a few seconds, but it was enough to put Jack off.

"What happened to you?"  Jack asked, shocked at his appearance. 

The Master looked at him bitterly, "I died and my resurrection failed."

"Well of course it did, the dead are suppose to stay dead," He said taking another shot at him.  The Master was prepared this time; he positioned himself so he wouldn't fall back, but he did stumble a bit when it hit him in the chest.  He felt himself growing weaker, but he didn't give up.  He grabbed the closest thing to him, which happens to be an umbrella, and charged at Jack.

"Speak for yourself!"  He yelled as he charged at him.  Jack didn't have time to react; The Master hit him over the head with the umbrella, nocking him to the ground and sending his blaster across the floor.  Jack rolled over and grabbed The Master's leg and yanked he to the ground.  He got in a good punch to the face before he started crawling towards his blaster.

The Master saw what he was doing and grabbed the umbrella and threw it at the blaster, sending it even further away.  Jack grabbed onto the side of a table and pulled himself up.  The Master tried to pull him back down again, but Jack kicked him in the face, putting him back down.

_I'm weak; this body is eating away at itself,_ The Master thought.  Back in his thoughts, he started to hear the drums again, _1,2,3,4...1,2,3,4_.  Now was definitely not a good time for this to happen.  The drums drowned his focus, he tried to get back up, but his legs weren't letting him.  He looked ahead of him; Jack had received his blaster and would probably shoot him at any second.

He wildly looked around for something that could help him, but the drums boomed through his head, cutting off his abilities.  Jack reloaded his blaster and aimed it at The Master.  He shot, catching The Master off guard; he collapsed.  Jack slowly walked over to him.  He was still breathing, just knocked out.

Jack, deciding not to pass up an opportunity, picked him up and dragged him to the van.  He put him in the back next to Clara.  Her hands were bound and she had gauze over her mouth.  She glanced over to The Master beside her.  If he looked bad before, he definitely looked bad now.  His face was covered in bumps and scrapes; one of his cuts was even bleeding.

Clara looked ahead, Jack had taken the drivers seat.

Jack looked behind him at her.  "It's time I take you to Torchwood."


	4. Chapter 4

The Master felt dizzy; he had ringing in his ears, and of course the drums... they never leave. His eyelids were heavy and resisted to open. He didn't want to open them; he just wanted to lie there for a few more seconds. Eventually, he painstakingly opened his eyes. The lights blinded him, and for a second he though he might be dead. _Killed by a pretty boy... how pathetic._ He thought to himself. Once his eyes focused, he realized that he wasn't dead after all, the lights were just an overhead lamp, like kind you see at a hospital or a dentist.

He tried to get up, but something held him back. He looked down; there were multiple strands of Velcro on his arms, legs, and torso holding him in place. He also noticed that he had no shirt on and there were nettles and wires sticking out of his body. His eyes followed the trail of wires, which lead to a few monitors. They showed the heart beat of both his hearts and a scan of his skeletal structure, which seemed to pulsate in and out like the machine couldn't detect it.

His eyes followed some more wires up to a clear medical bag containing a dark purplish liquid. The wire that was connected to it didn't seem to have any of the fluid in it; so none of it was in his system. His gaze drifted to his right arm. He clenched his fist and tried to pull himself free from the Velcro, but he was too weak. The blue shimmer of his skin reveling his skeleton underneath confirmed that.

"Fascinating!" Exclaimed a feminine voice behind him. The Master jerked his head around. There, on a balcony, stood a fairly tall woman in a business suit. Her ginger hair was up in a bun and she had a memorized look on her face. She made her way down the balcony and up to the monitors. "It's as if your physical being is trying to manifest itself back into reality, although, that's ridiculous, but here you are." She said that last part as she turned around to face him.

"Here I am," The Master replied smugly, "but where exactly is here?"

"Why, Torchwood of course!" She said in an innocent tone that made The Master roll his eyes. "Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Miss Macy, I'm in charge of the biology division of Torchwood." She started to walk around the table that he was on. "Captain Jack brought you here, he says you're from Gallifrey. One of the last Time Lords." She was by his head now; she leaned over towards him, her face turned from innocent and friendly to hard and carless in a matter of seconds. "You're supposed to be dead, but you just keep popping up." Her voice turned cold. She turned around and started to walk back towards the monitors. "Since you disregard the rules of life and have no means of good intention, Torchwood has decided that it would be best to use your current condition as... an opportunity." She said that in a menacing tone as she turned to face him, her back to the screens.

The Master raised his eyebrows; not so fond of her tone, but he played along. "An opportunity you say?"

"Why yes, you have given us an opportunity to research the concept of bringing someone back from the dead. Plus with you being a Time Lord, we could also use some of your 'abilities' in favor of the human race. Of course, we would have used The Doctor, but Jack wouldn't allow it. Now we have a completely unimportant Time Lord at our hands. You being a deranged murderer will make this process so much easier."

"What exactly is involved in this process?" He asked suspiciously.

"Oh, we're just going be doing a few experiments starting off testing the satiability of your physical body with this." She made her way over to the bag with the purple liquid, holding her hand out to it to show him that's what she met. "As you may have noticed, we have already connected it to a vein in your left arm. This liquid is designed to cunduct electric sparks throughout the body; this may kill a normal human, but you're not human." She turned on the machine and hovered her hand over the start button. "Just so you know you may experience a lot of pain and do take it personally."

She slapped her hand on the button and the liquid started to fill up the tube leading up to his arm. Before The Master could ask what she met by that, he felt the liquid reach his blood stream. It stung. It felt like his insides were on fire. It contracted his muscles and he was unable to move. It took all he had to not scream out and show his weakness. He could see the liquid move up his arm; it darkened his veins. As it moved up his arm and over his chest, the pain got worse, if that was even possible. Unable to contain himself any longer, he let out an agonizing yell.

Miss Macy smiled and walked over to the monitors, observing the readings. "Oh, that's interesting, well, well, we will be keeping a close eye on you." She said to herself. She walked back up to the balcony and let the machine do it's work.

* * *

 

Clara was in a white room. There was a mirror on one side of the wall; she knew that it was a one-way mirror from all of those crime shows. She sat at a plane beige table with a phone on the top left corner. Across from her sat Jack Harkness.

"So you have absolutely no idea who he is?" Jack asked.

"No I don't! I already told you! I found him passed out in the forest and I brought him to my house. I couldn't just leave him there."

"You didn't even bother calling the police, you just took him."

"Well, ya. I was going to..." Clara looked down at her hands.

"No you weren't Clara, I can tell when someone is lying. You didn't call the police because you knew he wasn't human." Clara's head snapped up, surprised at what he just said. "Here at Torchwood, we deal with extraterrestrial phenomenon, so this is just normal business to us. So I'm going to ask again. Do you know who he is?"

Clara answered with precaution; she didn't want to revel too much about her travels through time and space. "When I found him in the forest, he was beat up, I watched as he healed himself. I knew that he must not be from this world, so I didn't call the police. I didn't want anyone getting hurt."

Jack took in what she just said. He ran his hands through his hair. "His name is The Master. He's from a planet called 'Gallifrey'; they call themselves 'Time Lords.' He's one of the last of his kind and he is extremely dangerous."

_Ya, The Doctor mentioned._ Clara thought to herself. The Doctor never went into grave detail about it so Clara decided to play dumb. "When you say he's dangerous..."

Jack leaned closer to her. "I mean the man is a psychopathic murderer! He has committed mass genocide and he is extremely clever. Far more intelligent than anything the human race has seen... well except for..." Jack trailed off. He leaned back, rubbing his face out of frustration. It's been a few years since he has last been on the TARDIS, it's times like this where he realizes how bad he misses it.

"Except for...?" Clara repeated, waiting for a response. Jack glanced up at her.

"His name is The Doctor." Clara's heart leaped when she heard his name. _So these people know about him._ She thought. "He's a Time Lord, like The Master." Jack continued, snapping Clara back to their conversation.

She decided to come clean. Before Jack got another word out, she quickly said, "ya, I know."

Jack stopped for a beat. "What?"

"I know about The Doctor." She said a little louder. When Jack didn't respond she continued, "I travel with him, one day he just showed up at my flat. There was this robot thing. He saved me, then took me with him." Clara smiled at the memory.

"He took you to alien planets didn't he? Showed you things you couldn't even dream of seeing?" Jack asked. Clara nodded, a little shocked of how accurate he was. Jack chuckled, "I use to travel with him." He shook his head, "hasn't he ever talked about me?"

"I didn't even know someone traveled with him before me." She answered apologetic.

"He hasn't even mentioned Rose." It wasn't a question. Jack plunked back into his chair.

Deciding to get back on topic, Clara said, "The Doctor never said anything about The Master, other than he's dangerous."

"That's basically all you need to know about him."

"But there is more to know." Clara said. Jack leaned forward just about to answer when the phone rang. Jack leaned back and picked it up. He listened for a moment. Clara watched his face to try to figure out what was going on, but his face remained unchanging.

A few seconds passed then he said, "right, on our way." He hung up the phone. He got up from his seat and started to head towards the door. He stopped and turned his head over his shoulder towards Clara. "You comin'?"

"Oh, right." Clara got up and followed him out the door. Jack led her down a white narrow hallway. After a few twist and turns, they reached a set of futuristic doors with some sort of lock. Jack stepped forward and scanned his hand on the lock.

"Captain Jack Harkness, recognition." Clara heard a robotic voice from over head say. The doors slid open. Clara followed Jack through them. The room on the other side of the doors was big. The walls were white, the floor was white; basically every thing was some shade of white. There were a bunch of people hustling about in lab suits; some caring trays and test tubes.

Clara must have stopped dead in her tracks because Jack then said, "If you stand there any longer, they're going to start doing test on you too." He joked. He tilted his head motioning for her to follow. Clara quickly scampered beside him. Jack led her up a balcony to a smaller room. In it were a few dials, buttons, and a screen. There was a woman in the room as well.

"Jack! It's about time you got here, I was beginning to worry." The way she said it didn't sound like she was worried at all.

"I got held up." Jack said stepping aside so that Clara was visible. The woman took notice of her.

"Oh! So you must be Clara Oswald! I'm Miss Macy." She said with a smile reaching her hand out to her. Clara took it; it was very cold.

"Just Clara, thanks." Clara responded. Miss Macy turned to face Jack.

"The Time Lord is restrained," was all she said. She turned her back and walked up to the monitor. She clicked a few buttons, then a screen popped up. It showed a man strapped to an operating table and hooked up to machines. Jack and Clara walked up to it. Once Clara was closer, she saw that the man was The Master. He looked passed out, and there was something off about him, but Clara couldn't put her figure to it.

"We ran the first test on him." Miss Macy continued. She flipped a lever and a hospital chart with a skeletal structure showed up. "As you can see our hypothesis worked. The serum has restored his physical state, well, temporarily. This is a screen capture of The Master's skeletal structure when the serum was in progress." She pressed a few buttons and popped up a different window. "And this is his skeletal structure now. As you can see, it started fluctuating again, resisting reality. If I was to use more voltage..."

"Macy, I told you, that's agents Torchwood standard, and besides, that much voltage will kill him. You want him alive don't you?" Jack said sternly.

"But, of course." Miss Macy said looking at him with a smile.

"Wait, I'm sorry, but what exactly are you doing?" Clara asked. _What are these 'test' she's talking about?_

Miss Macy turned to look at Clara, "when I heard that Jack brought back The Master, I asked faculty permission to figure out his Time Lord biology and use it for the good of humanity. Think about it, we could find out exactly how they regenerate and we could reverse engineer our own regeneration energy. Plus when I found out his current state, I could hardly resist." She said with a smile.

"What are you talking about? What current state?" Clara asked, trying to keep up.

"Oh, you don't know? The Master is a dead man, a failed resurrection. His physical being fluctuates between our reality and that of the dead. To stabilize himself into this reality, he would need to consume a great amount of energy."

Clara's mind flashed back to when The Master was scarfing down her food. _He did look better after he ate, like a lot better._ "But you can't just experiment on him!"

"I assure you, he won't even be conscious during the procedures. He won't feel a thing." Miss Macy replied smoothly.

"But it's still not right!" Clara argued. Miss Macy shoot Jack a look.

"Alright Clara, come on. I'll show you your room." Jack said as he started pulling her by her elbow.

"But... wait, my room?" Clara said as Jack pulled her out of the room.

"You're a first hand witness of an alien encounter. It's standard procedure. You're going to have to answer more questions, but can wait until tomorrow, its still pretty late. You will just have to stay here a few days."

"A few days? I have work!"

"Relax Clara, Torchwood will take care of it." Jack lead Clara down a hallway with a bunch of numbered doors. Jack stopped the door labeled "Witness Encounter: room #221." This door didn't have a futuristic lock like all the others. Jack opened it and stood aside with his hand out for Clara to go in. She stepped in the room. It looked like an average hotel room.

"There are some extra clothes in there." Jack said pointing to a door on the right. "We also have working cable, so you can catch up on all your romantic comedies." He winked. Clara looked at him, still thinking about the last few minutes.

"Jack, you guys just can't experiment on him!"

"Hey, I don't like it anymore than you do, but I already backed up The Doctor on this one. It's either him or The Master. Besides, The Master is a criminal with a murderus record. If he was human, he would've been given a death sentence. We're keeping him alive, and gathering information in the process."

"But it's still not right!" She repeated.

"Clara..." Jack put his hands on her shoulders. "It's alright, we wouldn't do anything inhumane. I trust that my team won't do anything wrong." He let go of her shoulders and headed towards the door. Before he left, he looked back. "Don't go wandering around, this place if full of dangerous alien tech."

"K..." Clara said a bit disappointed. Jack shut the door behind him and left her.

* * *

 

Clara laid in her bed. Hours have passed. Once in a while she looked out her room window and saw a few cars leaving. She glanced at her clock. 1:35am. She's thinking so much, she couldn't even go to sleep if she wanted to. Her thoughts kept drifting back to The Master. She knows that he's dangerous, like seriously, everyone keeps bring that up, but he hasn't even harmed her. Jack said he's a psychopath. Wouldn't he have harmed her by now?

Clara sat up and moved to the edge of her bed. This whole Torchwood thing is a bit fishy, especially Miss Macy. How did she know what experiments to use on him? Clara got up from her bed and walked towards the door. _It's time I did some investigation._ She thought to herself. She headed out the door and started looking for the only person she knows will give her straight answers. The Master.


	5. Chapter 5

Clara crept along the hallway placing her hands along the wall as she goes. Remembering the way Jack took her, she turned right and bumped into a door. She fumbled for the handle. It was locked. "Rats." Just then she heard some footsteps. She nearly tripped as she scurried to hide in the dark corner off to the side of the door. The footsteps got closer as she held her breath. The door opened and two men in lab coats came out.

"You got the Time Lord locked up, right?" The first one asked.

"Oh ya, that glass is molted from an asteroid that came here from thousands of light years away. Nothing can break through that."

They passed her by and she quickly scooted her way through the door before it closed. The room was dark except for a few blinking lights of the machines. Clara's eyes adjusted and she got her bearings. She looked around; she was in the right room. She walked over to where Jack had taken her before. She walked up to the door of the room. It wasn't closed all the way, so she pushed it open and slowly made her way over to the monitors. She looked around and saw what she was looking for. She pressed the button that Miss Macy had pressed earlier.

The screen lit up. On it was a live feed of the operation room. Where The Master was last time, was an empty table. Clara thought for a moment. She saw a lever with a back arrow above it. She pulled it. The live feed became a recording, rewinding what happened. She stopped it when she saw The Master back on the table. The video played. She saw one of the men she had seen earlier walking up to the table. He unstrapped The Master and dragged him to another room, out of the range of the camera.

Clara stopped the tape and looked up at the corner of the screen. It showed a map of where the camera was placed. Clara looked at it long enough to remember it, and then she turned off the screen. She made her way out of the room and cracked the door, just how it was. She walked down the hall that led to the operation room. There weren't any doors, just an open room. Clara walked past the operating table and in the direction of where The Master was taken.

She entered a room with glass walls. No, they weren't walls; they were windows. The Clara glanced at one of them. Behind it she saw this creature. It had the antenna of a snail and head and body of a dog. It wasn't furry; it was scaly and it had twice as many legs. Clara looked in another window. This one had a creature that was constantly moving. She couldn't quite tell what it looked like; it kept rapidly changing its shape. _This must where they keep all the aliens that they find._ She thought.

She continued her way down the hallway; there were aliens in almost everyone. Some of them shrieked when she passed by. She started jogging, still glancing over to the windows. She finally got to one that looked like it contained a humanoid figure. It was The Master. He sat in the corner; his eyes were closed. He had on a black t-shirt that she hasn't seen on him before.

Clara walked up to the cage and tapped on the glass. His eyes shot open and looked at her. Clara made a small wave. The Master's lips curled up into his signature smirk that made Clara's heart race. He slowly got up and got closer to the window. He looked more tired than he ever had. His veins going up to his neck were a dark purplish color through his skin. Kind of like how R looked in "Warm Bodies."

The Master got up to the window and put his head and hands against the glass. Up close, Clara could see that his t-shirt had a smiley face and said "Nirvana" under it.

Clara nodded at it. "Nice shirt."

The Master glanced down at his shirt. "It was all they had, they're running test on my other clothes," The Master rolled his eyes, "it's not like those idiots are going to find anything."

Clara wasn't really paying attention; her gaze was focused on his neck, where she saw his veins. "What did they do to you?" She asked with sorrow in her voice. The Master rubbed his neck, wincing.

"That Macy chick injected some sort of serum into me. It felt like my insides were tearing apart... burning." He stopped and looked away from her. Clara couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He's been through so much pain; first he had some sort of weird noise in his head, now this! She knew that Miss Macy was lying! Clara put her hand up to the glass; The Master jerked his head up.

"Hey, I'm going to get you out of here."

The Master chuckled, "I assume that they already told you who I am, now why would you want to help me?" Clara stopped for a moment. _Why do I want to help him?_ He's a murderer. He could have killed thousands of innocent people. She looked at him; looked through his hazel, brown eyes. She saw arrogance, slyness, and intelligence, but she also saw pain, loss, and something else. She didn't know what it was, but it made her heart flutter. In those last moments, he reminded her of someone that she knows very well.

"The Doctor would." She answered.

The Master rolled his eyes. "Ya, he would." He said a little annoyed as he started sliding down the wall. Clara crouched down beside him through the glass.

"You know him then don't you."

"Know him? I basically grew up with him. He was my best friend back on Gallifrey. We even went to the academy together."

"Then what happened? If you are his friend, then why aren't you with him right now?"

"I said he _was_ my friend. After the academy we went our separate ways. He wanted to help people, where I wanted to rule them. He chose his name, as did I, and to answer your question, he did offer me to come with him..."

"And?"

"I'm not spending my the rest of my life with that idiot, being locked inside that TARDIS, never being able to return home. I rather die, and I did... right in his arms."

There was silence for a moment as Clara looked at him. He was staring off at the wall. Although his words were bitter, Clara thought she saw a hint of sadness in the back of his eyes. The Master sat quietly waiting for her to say something. The drums hummed in his head. _1,2,3,4...1,2,3,4...1,2,3,4._ He closed his eyes and sighed, starting to tap out the rhythm. Clara noticed this.

"Now that would be the drums, correct?" She said, nodding to his hand.

He opened his eyes and glanced over to her. "They never stop. Now, thanks to Torchwood, they've gotten worse." He said bitterly.

"Okay, that's it! Torchwood is going down!" Clara said as she quickly got up and started to walk away.

"Where do you think you're going?" The Master yelled after her. Clara stopped and turned around.

"I'm going to find this Macy chick, and then I'm going to get you out of here." She yelled back. She turned back around and exited the dark hallway.

The Master slumped back in the corner of his cell. He smiled to himself, thinking about Clara. She had some sort of fire about her, and she wasn't going to take no for an answer. Come to think of it, he didn't even know her name. _Like I care, she's just an annoying, weak little human_. He thought, removing the smile from his face. Although, he did have a feeling that she would keep to her word.

* * *

Clara was back in her room. It was almost morning; the Torchwood staff would be coming back to work soon. After she visited The Master last night, she walked back to the room with the monitors. She looked around for anything that could give her information on Miss Macy. She didn't end up finding anything, but she remembered The Master saying that Miss Macy did the procurers on him herself, so Clara replayed the tape.

"Just so you know you may experience a lot of pain and do take it personally." Clara watched in horror at what Miss Macy did to The Master. He went ridged and thrashed in pain. Clara couldn't bear to look anymore and quickly turned off the monitor.

Back in the present, Clara thought about last night. _What did she mean "do take it personally?" Has she met The Master before?_ She thought. Just then her alarm clock went off, startling her. _It must have been pre-set._ She went over to it to turn it off the noisy beeping. It was silver and round with a bright blue screen. On the screen, it displayed a message.

It reads: _You have a half of an hour to get ready. I will come pick you up for more questioning, sorry. - Jack_

Clara picked up the clock and turned it over, trying to find the off switch. After she was about to give up trying to find the switch, she noticed a new message on the screen.

_P.s. to turn off, just speak to it._

"Um..okay.. turn off clock." The beeping stopped immediately. Clara sighed in relief of the annoyance. She tossed the clock on her bed and she plopped down with it, this was going to be a long 30 minutes.

* * *

The Master sat in his cell. He sometimes glanced through the window at the other creatures being kept here. He knew the name of each species; some of them deadly, some not so much, but still locked up. When he's not looking at them, his thoughts got drowned out by the drums. He laid his back on the wall and closed his eyes.

There was a faint clicking in the background; he didn't really think much of it until the clicking got louder. He opened his eyes and slowly sat up. The clicking got louder, it sounded like it was coming towards him. He looked out his window to see what it was. The clicking noise synced with a pair of black high heels coming his way. It their place was Miss Macy.

The Master rolled his eyes and slumped his back against the cell wall. The clicking stopped in front of his cell. He lazily glanced up. Miss Macy was standing there with her arms folded.

"Just the person I wanted to see." The Master said sarcastically. "Come to do more 'experiments' are we?"

"But of course! We're not done yet, you're still standing." She said with a mischievous smile. She raised her hand up to the wall next to the glass. She pushed on it and a small section parted, revealing a password pad. She quickly typed in the numbers and the glass dissolved. Before The Master could do anything, she quickly stunned him with her blaster that she hid behind her back on her belt.

The Master fell back. He wasn't knocked out, but it gave Miss Macy enough time to take out a syringe and eject something into The Master's neck. The Master's body instantly relaxed. He felt as if he lost all strength and could barely move. He tried to say something, but he couldn't talk. Miss Macy helped him up and held his head up by the back of his neck. She placed her other hand on his upper arm to support him.

"Come now dear, it's time for your treatment." She said in an eerie voice in his ear. She pushed him along the hallway and out the door, with a big smile on her face.

* * *

Clara was exhausted; she's been answering the same questions all day: "Where did you meet him?" "Why did you keep him in hiding?" "Are you working with him?" Clara answered them the same as she did with Jack. When they finally decided that this was all a big mistake and she had absolutely nothing to do with The Master, they let her go. Jack was waiting outside of the room for her.

"Yeah, I know, it's tedious, trust me, I had to go through the same thing when I applied." He said when he saw the look of anguish on her face. "Come on, I'll show you the way out."

Remembering her promise, Clara quickly said, "Actually, I left something in my room."

"Want me to go with you?" Jack asked with a wink. Clara felt her cheeks get warm.

"No I'm fine, I'll just... uh... go then." She stuttered, pointing behind her while walking backwards. She turned around and walked away. When she was out of sight from anyone, she started to sprint. She found her way to the hallway where she last saw The Master. She ran past all the cages and found the one with The Master. It was empty. "Crap." She ran her hands up to her hair and started to think. _Ok, ok. He has to still be here. So.. uh, the last place he was at was the operating room, right, I'll just go there and if I get caught, I'll just say that I'm lost, ok, yeah, that sounds good._

Clara headed back down the hallway. She had no idea where she was going, but there were a few signs around. She followed them, making a few wrong steps here and there, but eventually she found her way to the operating room. She peeked through the window, looking around. The operating table was in the middle of the room. Nobody was on it. _Oh come on!_

Clara turned back around and down the hallway. She turned the corner and saw a lab coat draped on a cart. A light bulb lit up in her head and she quickly took the coat and put it on. She walked up to the door; it had a card lock on it. She dug through the pockets of the coat; her hands reached something smooth and plastic. She pulled it out and slid it across the lock. The red light turned green, and she pushed the door open.

_Alright, lets see how good I am at acting._ She walked through the door with a confident look on her face. She saw a few people up at some monitors by the operating table. She got a little closer, enough to hear them.

"Macy was right, these readings are incredible." The first one said. He was a tall brunette and had on a black pair of glasses.

"This research will change the world!" Another one said, shorter than the one before and with blond hair. Just then a man with black hair came running over.

"Guys! The Krillitane is out of control! We need backup!" He yelled at them pleadingly.

"You guys go; I have to do extra work here." The one is the glasses said. The other two ran off with the one with black hair. The other one returned to his work. Clara saw this as a perfect opportunity. She walked up to him with confidence.

"Krillitane huh?" She asked him. He turned to face her, glanced her over and his face turned red.

"Yeah, uh...we got it not too long ago... they keep changing! Last time we heard of them, they looked more like a bat. Now... gee, I don't even know how to describe the way they look." He stuttered and shyly smiled. Clara chuckled at his reaction to her. "Oh, I'm Joe." He said reaching out his hand. "You must be.... Max?" He said a bit confused and pointing to her nametag. Clara looked down at it, it did in fact say "Max."

_Crap._ "It's short for... Mackina." She answered, trying to sound convincing. He smiled, so he must have bought it.

She glanced over at the monitors. "What's that then?" She asked, nodding to the screen. He turned to look at it.

"That is a Time Lord, well the design of one anyway." He said more confidently, showing off. "See that's the double heartbeat." He said, pointing to two lines on the screen. They pulsated, one right before the other. "And that's the skeletal structure." He pointed to the diagram to the right.

"Why does it keep diapering?" Clara asked, even though she already knew.

"This one is special, half dead, half alive, it's interesting really. This is actually a live feed." Clara looked up at him; he was smiling, obviously enjoying his job.

"So where is he then?"

"In another room, Macy's got him. To tell you the truth, she kind of freaks me out, she didn't give me a chance to properly observe him myself; she just let me see the readings." He looked disappointed and dropped his gaze. Clara leaned closer to him.

"Hey, you want to go see him?" She asked with a smile. His head snapped up.

"I can't I have to do my job." He answered, unsure, although, Clara could see a hint of excitement in his eyes when she asked him.

"Oh, come on, just one peek." He looked back at the screen, then back at her.

"Alright, come on."

* * *

Clara and Joe reached a door. "It's right behind here." Joe said. He hesitated.

"You nervous?" Clara asked.

He looked down at his shoes, "Yeah, a bit."

"Don't be. Look, there's a window on the door, all we have to do is look through it." He nodded and both of them got closer to the door and peeked through the window. They saw the back of a woman with ginger hair. This must be Miss Macy. She was standing in front of something, but they couldn't tell. Macy moved slightly towards the right. The thing that was hiding behind her was no other than The Master. He was sitting down in a wooden chair. His arms were cuffed to the chair and he had wires with suction cups on his head. Clara had an idea what was going on, but she didn't want to believe it. They could see Miss Macy moving her mouth, but they couldn't hear her through the door.

On the other side of the door, The Master could hear everything.

"I'm going to ask you again, why did you do it?" Miss Macy asked with a hard look.

The Master rolled his eyes. "I already told you, I was trying to conquer the world and all that jazz... and he just got in my way." Miss Macy stomped over to a switch on the wall and flipped it. The Master went ridged and his hair started to stand up as the electricity surged through him. He contained his yell, but the look of agonizing pain was on his face. Miss Macy flipped the switch again and it stopped. The Master gasped and instantly relaxed.

Clara held her breath behind the door, her hands were up at her mouth and she was starting to tear up. Joe was standing beside her, wide eyed. "I knew there was something up with her, this is just plain torture. There's not even a reason for it... just plain torture..." He glanced back at Clara, then back at the door. He raised his fist up to it to knock on it. Clara grabbed his arm away before he could do anything.

"What are you doing!?" She asked loudly.

"I'm going to get her out of there and get her fired." He said confidently.

"But..." He gave her a look that said he knew what he was doing. Clara silently nodded and Joe put his fist up again to knock on the door.

_Knock, Knock, Knock._ Miss Macy jerked around with an annoyed look on her face. She strutted her way over to the door. Clara quickly turned around to hide her face. The door swung open.

"Miss Macy, something popped up on our screens for the Drashig, you might want to take a look at it." Joe said in a worried tone, pointing behind him. Miss Macy composed herself.

"Of course." She replied with a sheepish smile. They started to make their way down the hallway, halfway there, Macy snapped her head over her shoulder and yelled to Clara, "You! Get back to work!" She turned back and continued on her way. When Clara was sure she was gone, she raised her head a rushed up to the door. She swiped her card on the lock and thrashed it open. The Master was still sitting in the chair; his head flopped forward, breathing heavily.

Clara ran over to him and got on her knees. Without thinking, she placed her hands on either side of his face lifting it up. "Hey, you okay?" His eyes met hers, and her heart fluttered. Her hands got warm and she felt an electric buzz. She wasn't sure if it was just static electricity or what, but she didn't want to let go.

Clara's hands were warm and soft on The Master's face. She lightly traced his cheek with her thumb. He felt something in the pit of his stomach. He slowly pulled his head away, making her hands drop. He huffed, "Just get me out of here." Clara nodded and removed the suckers from his head, then proceeded to fumble with his handcuffs. The Master rolled his eyes, "It's all done by machines, use your card on it." He said, flicking his head towards the right.

Clara sighed, got off her knees, and rushed over to the machine. Passed a few buttons and levers, she saw a spot to insert her card. She fumbled in her pocket and pushed the card into the slot. The red light turned green and she heard a click behind her. She turned around and saw The Master rubbing his wrist. They were both red.

He slowly rose to his feet, wobbling a bit in the process, and went over to grab Clara's arm. "Come on." He commanded as he tugged at her; then stopped looking at her nametag. "Max?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Clara threw her free arm up.

"It was all I could find!" She nearly shouted.

"Alright then Max-y, don't get all huffy on me now." He smirked and Clara rolled her eyes as he started pulling her along again. They both strolled through the halls, occasionally having to hide from unwanted eyes. They eventually made their way to the main entrance. They hid behind some bins, glancing over ahead of them to see if anyone was there. When the coast was clear, they both ran out to the door, nearly running into it.

Clara swiped her card, waiting for the light to turn green. Nothing. She flipped it the other way and tried again. Nothing. "Going somewhere?" They heard an annoyed feminine voice behind them. They both wiped their head around. Miss Macy was standing there with her arms crossed. Behind her were a few workers; among them were Joe and Jack. They had an apologetic look on their face. "Restrain them." She demanded. A few of them came down and grabbed them.

"Again with all the restraining and grabbing..." The Master said sarcastically. Clara's eyes were focused on Miss Macy where she stood smirking. Rage boiled inside of her, how could someone do this?

"What is your problem?" She angrily sobbed.

"Revenge." Miss Macy answered bitterly.

"For what?"

"Why don't you ask him?" She said, jerking her head towards The Master. Clara followed her gaze onto him. His face was expressionless.

"He got in my way." He said, cold.

"You didn't have to." She instantly responded. Clara noticed that her voice cracked a bit when she said this.

"I'm sorry, what exactly did he do?" Clara interrupted.

Without taking her eyes off The Master, Miss Macy responded, "He killed my brother." And now Clara saw it. The sadness behind her eyes, the rage and sadness that have been held up for so long finally come out. Clara turned her head towards The Master, he was staring straight at Miss Macy, and he didn't look the slightest bit remorseful. He kept his gaze on her with cold eyes. _He got in my way_. Rang in Clara's ears and for the first time since they met, she felt a hint of fear. A lump caught in her throat.

"My brother worked with the government," Macy continued as if no time has passed at all. "He was found with his co-workers in the meeting room. They had gas poisoning. Surprisingly enough, the only one to survive was Harold Saxon. I joined Torchwood; I learned things that I wouldn't have even imagined, and when I found out about whom he really was, I knew that was him, I knew he killed him."

Clara glanced back at The Master; he had a type of fire in his eyes. He pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows. "He was a rubbish worker anyway." He sneered at her. Miss Macy drew out her blaster and aimed it at him. "Alright enough of this." He said, as the blaster was just about to fire. With a great amount of energy, he blasted the man on the right of him at least ten feet. With his free arm, he yanked the man on the other side and threw him to the ground. The blaster shot a red beam. The Master shot a blue spark back at it to destroy the beam. Miss Macy stood there in shock.

The Master cocked his head. "You thought the electrocution would drain me, but it just made me stronger." His arms began to glow with the blue sparks. Macy ordered more people to attack and restrain him, but every time someone came at him, he shot them back down. A lot of them were just injured, but an unfortunate few never got back up.

Clara stared in horror, tears swelling in her eyes. She tried to pull out of the grasp of the man that was restraining her, but he was too strong. He pulled her back away from the fighting, but she kept struggling and eventually she was able to get her arm free. She elbowed him in the face, causing him to let go of her other arm. She ran back to the scene, but she stopped dead in her tracks when she saw him.

The Master had Jack in a death grip. His arm was around his neck and Jack was struggling to get it off. "You will never win, you will always fail." Jack gagged.

"I can buy my time." The Master said into his ear, and with one quick motion, he snapped his neck and dropped Jack to the floor. Clara screamed at the sight making The Master jerk his head towards her, remember that she was here. He quickly kneeled down next to Jack, took his arm, and rip off his vortex manipulator.

He started to head towards Clara. She turned around and started to run away, but he came up behind her, he swung his arm around her waist. As she was trying to get away, The Master started typing into the vortex manipulator. He grabbed Clara's hand and slapped both of their hands on the manipulator. There was a flash of light, then nothing.


	6. Chapter 6

There was a feeling of falling; there was no light, no sound, just nothing. Clara has never been more scared before in her life; she thought it was never going to end. As she continued to fall through the black abyss, she could feel the coldness engulf her. It wasn't the cold of death, but it was the cold of a night's breeze. She could faintly smell coal burning and a bit of wet metal. Eventually, she could faintly see something at the bottom of the never-ending tunnel. As she zoomed closer, she could see that the bottom was made of bricks. She shielded her face with her arms, not that it would do anything to help her; closed her eyes; and waited for the impact.

The falling stopped. She thought for sure that she was dead; she didn't want to open her eyes. Painstakingly, she removed her arms from her head and opened her eyes. A few inches from her were the bricks. She hadn't hit them! Instead, she was levitating a few inches above them. She was still surrounded by the blackness of the tunnel, and she wondered how long she was going to be in there. Just as she thought that, the tunnel let go of her and she landed on the cold, moist bricks with a thump.

Her body was sore, but she was able to get herself in a sitting position. She looked around. She could see Big Ben in the distance, so she knew she was still in London, but her surroundings told her different. The street she was on was made of brick and the buildings were all old-fashioned looking, but at the same time, they looked newly built. There weren't any streetlights except for a few lanterns hanging on steel polls. It was also dark and she didn't see any people.

Just then, Clara heard a thump behind her and she whipped her head around. A few feet behind her was The Master. He grunted in pain and sat up. He looked down at the vortex manipulator and swore. It was in pieces. He picked up the remaining pieces and put them in his pocket as he stood up. He glanced up, noticing Clara for the first time and said "I see you made it in one piece." He smirked and started to walk towards her. Clara's heart fluttered seeing him, and then she remembered Jack and staggered back.

"Get away from me!" She half cried. The Master stopped a few feet in front of her and cocked his head.

"Are you upset over that guy? Oh, come on. He had it coming." Clara just stared at him with wide eyes; tears were swelling up in them.

"You're insane." She managed to get out through the tears. The Master rolled his eyes.

"You just now figured that out?" He responded sarcastically and took another step towards her. Clara stepped back at the same time, getting ready to run for it. "You know, that idiots going to pop back up again." He continued.

Clara was taken aback. "What?"

"He can't die. Didn't he tell you? Huh, some friend." The Master sassed and continued to move closer to Clara. Clara couldn't take it anymore, once he got close enough, she smacked him as hard as she could. He obviously wasn't expecting that as he backed up in a daze. Clara took this opportunity to run for it. With The Master far behind her, she made her way through the unfamiliar town. She ducked through buildings and swerved through allies. Her legs burned with each step she took. She turned her head back once in a while to make sure he wasn't following her. She didn't see anyone.

She eventually stopped her running once she saw a dark alleyway. She slowly walked to the corner of it and sat down to catch her breath. One by one, tears started to flow from her eyes. _This is my fault... I'm the reason The Master is loose. Why didn't I just listen to The Doctor? I wouldn't be in this mess. I don't even know where I am._ At this thought, she cried even harder, now making the sound of faint sobs.

She sat there for a while, she didn't know how long, but her tears started to dry up. She sniffled a bit and was about to get up when she heard a quiet growl. She froze and looked around. On the other side of the alley, she could see a dim red glow. She heard the growl again as the glow got closer. She quickly backed up, hitting the wall. There was no escape. As the glow got closer, she could see that it was not one solid glow, but two. Eyes.

The eyes stopped just before it reached a pool of moonlight. Clara held her breath. A paw appeared in the small light. It was about the size of her fist. The paw was all battered; there was visible skin, some of it pealed off showing bone underneath. The remaining fur was tousled with a greenish color. The animal stepped forward even more, reveling its whole torso. Clara gapped at its face. The red glow was in fact its eyes and the skin appeared like the paw, not all the way there. The face was deformed; it looked unproportionate. Clara could clearly tell that this animal wasn't just one breed. It wasn't just a mutt, no; it was like someone took bits and pieces of different dogs, then fit it all together like a puzzle.

The pieces were stitched together with a rusty metal cord. The dog's teeth were bared and were ready to lunge. Clara threw her arms in front of her face as the dog leaped at her. It's teeth penetrated down hard on her arm. Clara let out a blood-curdling scream. Blood oozed out of her arm. She tried to push the dog away, but it was too strong. It let go of her arm and bit her shoulder; Clara moved her hands up to its neck, trying to get it off.

Just then, something crashed into them, knocking the dog off and sending Clara to the other side of the wall where she hit her head. Her vision was blurry, but she could see the silhouette of a man. The shadow of the dog leaped at him; there was a bright flash of light, then everything was silent.

Clara reopened her eyes. Her eyes were still blurry, but she could make out the outline of the man; the dog was nowhere to be seen. The man turned his head towards her and headed in her direction. Clara was to faint from the blood loss to move or even be scared. She felt his presents near her. She felt some sort of cloth on her arm where the dog bit her; the man tied it around her arm. He didn't seem to care about the bloody mess his hands were becoming. He did the same with the bite on her shoulder.

Her eyes drifted shut and she felt the ground disappear beneath her. The man had picked her up and rested her head on his shoulder near his neck. She could feel his chest rising from his consistent breaths, even though he just fought off a masive dog. Clara wasn't sure if she could trust him, but she didn't have the strength to argue. She drifted out of consciousness as she felt the steady movement of him walking.

* * *

When Clara regained her consciousness, she could feel the soft cushion of the bed that she was laying on and could smell the staleness of the air and the distant smell of food cooking. She gradually opened her eyes. In front of her face, beside the bed, was a small wooden table. It had an unlit lantern and a vase with some white flowers. Clara slowly sat up, still sore from the day before, and looked around. The room was small. It had a bookshelf in the corner, and on the left wall was a window with dark red drapes. The drapes were closed, but she could see a small sliver of light through the crack where they met.

_Knock, Knock, Knock._ She turned her head towards the door as it started to open. A small young woman came in caring a tray with tea. She was dressed in a long dress all the way to her toes. It looked like a maids outfit, but from the 19th century. _But that must mean..._

She set her tray on the table beside her. "Feeling better miss...?" She trailed off, looking for a name.

"Clara, Clara Oswald. And yes, I am thank you, um... where am I exactly?" Clara asked. The lady smiled.

"Oh, yes of course. This may have been a bit confusing for you. You're at the Peters' residence. Mr. Saxon brought you in last night after your accident. Such a nice man he is. It was a bit of a shock when he brought you in, luckily my master's very kind and he's allowing you to stay here." She took the cup off the tray and placed it one the table, then she grabbed the teapot and began to pour.

"Mr. Saxon?" Clara asked quietly, taking the cup from the woman. That name sounded so familiar. Clara tried to remember where she heard it; then it hit her. Miss Macy had said it. It seemed so long ago, that Clara and The Master escaped Torchwood... The Master! Miss Macy had called The Master "Harold Saxon!" That must have been who brought her. Clara's face got hot at the memory of her passing out in his arms.

"Yes miss, Mr. Saxon, your master." She continued while Clara laughed silently to herself at the 'your master' bit. "Such a nice man," she repeated, "most people wouldn't care so much for their servants, you're very lucky to have him." Clara chuckled to herself; she wouldn't call it lucky at all, if it weren't for him, she would still be in her house, with her normal day life and not in this mess.

"And um, where is he now?" She didn't like the idea of The Master on the loose.

"Well, since you lot didn't have anywhere to stay, my master has assigned chambers for you. He's in his now. He looked awfully tired, I wouldn't bother him if I were you miss." She handed Clara a cup of tea, then picked up the tray and headed out towards the door.

"Excuse me miss!" Clara stopped her before she left. She turned around. "I didn't catch your name."

The maid smiled. "It's Luna."

"And um, Luna, what year is it?" Clara asked cautiously.

Luna looked worried. "You might want to rest up a bit more miss, it's 1816." And on that note, she left the room and closed the door behind her leaving Clara in a state of shock.

* * *

The Master sat in his room. The chair he was sitting in was velvet as was the curtains. The room was painted in mahogany and the closed curtains made it appear even darker. He had traded his t-shirt and black pants for some of the local clothing. He had on a beige waistcoat that matched his pants with the same color. Underneath his waistcoat, he wore a white collared shirt.

He was thinking of the events of last night. He didn't know what compelled him to take The Doctor's girl with him, but there was just something about her that he didn't want to lose. Something about her made him feel different. He felt it when she rescued him from that drenched Torchwood. The Master; saved by a human. He was still beating himself up about that. Now, she's somewhere in this house recovering from last night.

The Master found her just in time when that beast was attacking her. In all of his 900 years, he never saw anything like it. He managed to use almost the last of his strength to fight it off, it's now roaming loose somewhere in London. He had almost forgotten that Clara was even there, but he turned around and saw her lying there, nearly bleeding to death. Normally, he wouldn't care so much for a human life, but he justified it as a life for a life. She saved him, so he did the same for her.

He brought her to the closest house that looked the most decent. The maid that answered the door nearly had a heart attack. He had put on his best acting face. "Please you need to help her! I think she's dying!" He surprised himself that half of what he said was actually himself saying it and not just his false identity.

Luckily for them, they allowed them to come in. He told the story that he and his servant were caught up in a storm and lost all their belongings. He of course mentioned she got attacked by a rogue animal, but he didn't go into the details. After she was bandaged and fixed up, all the staff went to sleep. The Master stayed in the room with her for a while. There was just something about her. He wondered if he would feel it again. He walked forward towards her bead and stroked the back of his hand along her cheek. Sure enough, the feeling was there, in the pit of his stomach. Only this time, he could hold onto the feeling a little longer.

The feeling was warm; it spread through his fingertips throughout his whole body. He couldn't tell if he enjoyed the feeling or hated it. He dropped his hand before he found out and headed out of the door.

The Master's thoughts returned back to present once he heard a door close. He got up from his chair to see what was up. He exited his room to see the maid leave the girl's room.

"Is she alright?" He heard himself say. The maid glanced up at him and blushed.

"She is fine, just a bit of amnesia; she couldn't remember what year it was."

The Master took this as a perfect opportunity to learn her name. "She remembered who she was though right?"

"Oh yes, Clara Oswald. Lovely name that it, Clara, that's my gran's name."

The Master really didn't care at all about this lady's gran, but he nodded anyway to keep up the act. "Hey, I thought I heard someone calling for you in the kitchen." He made up to excuse himself from this conversation.

"Oh, yes. I better get going then." She scurried off towards the kitchen, leaving The Master in front of Clara's door.

_Clara,_ The Master thought, the name suited her. He smirked to himself the placed his hand on the doorknob to meet his new servant.


	7. Chapter 7

_1816,_ Clara thought to herself as she sat on her bed.  She couldn't believe it.  Well, actually, she could believe it, but why 1816?  She tried to remember anything significant from this time, but the only thing she could think of was this was the year without summer.  _Great, now I'm going to be freezing._  

She sighed and grabbed the covers of her bed and threw them off herself.  She was glad to see that she was still in her clothing; unfortunately, they weren't in the best condition.  They were torn with bits of dried blood.  She hesently moved a bit of torn fabric away from her arm revealing her red and swollen flesh underneath.  The bite was stitched together with some sort of irridescent, silver wire.  Remembering that people in the 19th century didn't have as good as medicine that they had today, she carefully brushed her fingers over the stitches making her arm throb.  She silently hoped that it wouldn't end up infected.

She didn't want to look at the swollen mess anymore, so she covered in back up with her torn clothes.  _Well, I can't just stay here all day._   She thought, so she swung her legs over the side of the bed and was about to get up when she heard the doorknob turn.  She froze.

The door slowly creaked open so she can see a hand that belonged to a man.  Once the door opened even more, she stiffened when she saw who it was.  The Master.  "It's nice to see that you're alive."  He said with sarcasm bringing in his signature smirk.  He leaned up agents the doorframe and crossed his arms.  Even though he was up to his usual banter, Clara could see that he was not well.  He was very pale and was stricken with dark circles under his eyes; he appeared like he could pass out at any second.  Even with all this, she was surprised at how nice he looked in the local clothing, almost gentlemen like, but she knew he was no gentleman.

"You need to stop getting yourself in trouble."  He continued smugly.

"Yeah?  Well, I wouldn't be in trouble if it wasn't for you."  She responded, standing up now and glaring back at him.

"But, let's not forget who allowed me to do that."

Clara didn't respond for a moment; she just glared at him.  "What do you want?"  She asked coldly.  The Master unfolded his arms and took a few steps towards her.

"I just came to inform you that you're now my personal servant – well, as long as you're here that it."  He said self-righteously.

It was Clara's turn to cross her arms.  "I am well aware of that; Luna explained to me the whole thing, and I filled in the details."  She took a step towards him showing some courage.  She didn't want to show any weakness in front of him, that didn't do any good before.  Although she didn't show it, she was terrified.  He could snap her neck at any second, but deep down she knew he wouldn't.  Even if he is a psychopath, he does have some common sense.  Killing her would do him no good in whatever he has planned.

The Master glared at her for a few seconds before stepping back out the door, but stopping it before it closed.  "Just for reference – you might want to adapt to your surroundings – your appearance might... _shock_ a few people."  And with that, he left leaving Clara in a daze staring at the door.

* * *

The Master eventually found himself in the dinning room.  It was a grand room with the same red drapes as the ones in his; they hung over two windows in the front of the room.  They weren't drawn, but they showed just enough light.  In between the two, stood a small wooden table that held a piece of parchnip with ink and quill.

In the heart of the room was the center table.  It held about sixteen seats, and appeared to be made of dark oak.  The chairs were also made of the same wood and the seat of them had red velvet stitched to it. 

In one of those chairs sat a woman.  Her face was obstructed from a newspaper, which was odd given society at this time didn't see fit to woman that read, but even though her face was hidden, The Master could see her other features.  She had on long silk gloves that covered her slender hands; she had on an elegant dress of the time with the same red to match the room.  Her brown hair was up and he could just see enough of her face to see her ruby earrings.

The Master cleared his throat to make his presence known.  The woman stiffened, and then quickly put down her newspaper, glancing up at him with her brown eyes, appearing childish.  When she realized who he was, she gave a warm smile.

"Oh, hello there.  Please excuse my rudeness – you must be Mr. Saxon," She said as she glided over to him holding out her left hand, which held a diamond ring on her finger, "I'm Meredith Peters."  The Master took her hand in his and brought it up to his face to kiss her knuckles.

"The pleasure is all mine Mrs. Peters."  He replied smoothly, like any gentleman of this time would.  Mrs. Peters smiled as she removed her hand from his and made her way back towards the table.  She turned back around and was just about to say something when a man walked into the room.

He had on the same type of clothes as The Master with the exception of gloves that were covering his hands, and like Mrs. Peters, he had on a ring on one of his fingers.  He must be her husband.  Like his wife, he too had brown hair and eyes and looked very young.

He came up to his wife's side and kissed her on her cheek.  "Good morning dear."  He said, gazing into her eyes.  She lovingly smiled back at him, and then shifted her eyes towards The Master.

"Henry dear, we have a guest."  She said, drawing his attention towards The Master.

"Oh, yes, of course."  He said as he left his wife's side to shake his hand.  "Mr. Saxon, we didn't have a proper introducing, considering the events of last night.  How are you?"

"Oh, I'm still shaken up a bit, but better than before."  He said as he shook his hand.  "Thank you again for taking us in, I don't know what we would have done after that dog attacked... you know something about that don't you?"  He asked once he saw Mr. Peters' face change when he mentioned the dog.  Mr. Peters was just about to say something, but his gaze was focused just behind The Master's shoulder.

The Master turned his head to see Clara standing in the entrance hallway of the dinning room.  He smiled when he saw that she had taken his advice and changed into something more time appropriate.  She had on about the same type of clothing as the Peters' servants, which was good on her part to keep up the lie.  The Master figured that she got them from that one servant girl.

"Miss Oswald, you look better."  Mr. Peters said as he came forward to greet her.  "I'm Henry Peters, the master of the house.  I'm glad to see that Miss Moran has taken care of you."  He said, motioning towards Luna, who was bringing in breakfast for them.

"I feel better, thank you for your kind hospitality Mr. Peters."  Clara was also introduced to Mrs. Peters who struck up a conversation with her.  The Master turned back to Mr. Peters waiting for an explanation.  Mr. Peters walked towards the entranceway to talk to The Master.  Once they were away from the crowd, Mr. Peters started talking.

"There have been other attacks, yours was not the first."  He said in a hushed voice.  The Master naturally became interested in the subject.

"There has been really?  How do you know this?" He asked, with a slight mischievous tone that only people who know him would pick up.

"Well, I'm part of Scotland Yard – there has been attacks, for the past few weeks; no survivors, we couldn't even find the bodies.  We only knew they were attacks from the left over blood on the streets.  We did have one eyewitness, who said they saw an animal with red eyes roaming the ally.  We did an investigation after that, but we didn't find anything.  But your servant over there is all we got to go on for this investigation."  He said pleading look in his eyes.

The Master looked back towards Clara.  She was still conversing with Mrs. Peters.

"Does anyone else know about this?"  He said still looking at her.

"Just Scotland Yard, and those few witnesses."  The Master turned his head back towards him with a plan brewing in his mind.

"I think it would be best that we leave Miss Oswald out of this, she's already been through so much."  He said conceitedly as Mr. Peters nodded.

In the dinning room, Clara was only half listing to Mrs. Peters' conversation.  Luckily for her, Mrs. Peters was going on about her home and family legacy or something, which gave Clara the chance to eavesdrop on The Master's conversation.

_"I think it would be best that we leave Miss Oswald out of this, she's already been through so much," what the heck does he mean by that?_   Clara thought, trying to listen in more to their conversation.

"Right, she has."  Mr. Peters' agreed.

"Although, I am interested to hear the other witness's story."  The Master said persuasively.

"Well, I was actually headed that way now, you can tag along if you like."  He responded with a smile.

The Master smirked, "Great," and followed Mr. Peters out the door.

"Miss Oswald!"  Mrs. Peters nearly screamed to get Clara's attention.

"Oh, sorry what?"

"I asked, if you agree?"

"Oh... uh... yes, I do... um will you excuse me for a moment?"  She said as she scurried out of her seat and out the door after The Master and Mr. Peters.  The sun was bright – it nearly blinded her once she stepped out.  Once her eyes cleared up, she took in her surroundings.  Unlike last night, the city was much more lively.  There were people everywhere: kids, adults, men, and women.  Some of the people were in horse drawn carriages.  Everyone also seemed to be happy, unaware of the dangers that plague them at night.

With all the commotion, she almost forgot about The Master and Mr. Peters.  She frantically looked around for them and eventually saw them when they were about to turn the corner.  She lifted up her dress a bit so she wouldn't trip while she jogged over to them.  Still keeping her distance, she silently followed them, listening into their conversation.

"So tell me more about this witness, do you know anything about them?"  She heard The Master ask.

"Yes, her name is Mary Godwin, she lives alone just on the edge of London."

"She didn't even explain why she was out so late, or– "

"No, she never did.  She just came up to us and reported the animal and left.  That's it."

Clara frantically tried to keep just enough distance so they didn't know she was there, but she could still hear them.  She was doing so well at it too, until she misplaced her foot and accidently kicked a small rock.  Clara froze, then quickly dodged behind a wall so they wouldn't catch her.  She couldn't hear anymore walking; they must have stopped.  Clara held her breath, waiting for them to move again.  Eventually, she heard the footsteps leave again.

Clara sighed in relief and turned the corner only to be met face to face with hazel eyes.

"Where do you think you're going?"  The Master said as he cocked his head at her.

_Shoot._   "I was... um..." Clara stammered, trying to think of a reasonable explanation.

 "You're not following us."  He demanded, making Clara snap out of her innocents.

"Well, you're certainly not leaving me there."  She snapped back at him, feeling her cheeks flush with red as her courage built up.  The Master rolled her eyes at her.

"Just go back, this is none of your concern."  He said as he turned to catch up with Mr. Peters.  Rage boiled up in Clara that she didn't knew she had.  She stomped up to him, grabbing his arm so he would face her.

"You brought me here, it is just as my concern as it is yours!"  She nearly yelled at him.  The Master glared at her.  How could she have the nerve to stand up to _him_?  She clearly knows what he is capable of, but she stands her ground.

_Very brave, but stupid._   The Master thought and almost smiled to himself.  He glanced down at her hand still holding on to his arm.  He gently pulled his arm away and turned back moving his head, signaling the she should follow.

Clara smiled to herself at her victory.

* * *

With Mr. Peters complaining that police work is no job for women, they eventually reached the house.  It was small; made of brick and stone with the wooden door cracked and decaying showing its age.

"This is her house then."  Mr. Peters said, barely motioning towards the door.  The Master stepped forward to knock on the door, but it flew open before he could get the first knock in.  There stood a woman, about twenty in age, with short, brown, wavy hair.  She had on a black dress that reached all the way down to her feet.  Clara couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was something about her that was oddly familiar.

"May I help you?"  She asked, looking from The Master to Clara.

"Yes, hello Miss Godwin."  Mr. Peters said from behind them, pushing his way to the front.

"Oh, hello detective Peters, it's nice to see you from our last visit.  I didn't realize that they're allowing women into Scotland Yard now."  She replied looking at Clara.

"Oh, no I'm not in Scotland Yard."  Clara said the same time Mr. Peters shook his head.

"Allow me to introduce Harold Saxon and Clara Oswald, they are here because they had the same experience as you, except they got attacked."  Mr. Peters explained.

Miss Godwin's smile disappeared and her expression turned serious.  "Come in then."  She moved herself away from the door as Mr. Peters, Clara and The Master came in.  Miss Godwin led them into the kitchen.  She cleared off a small wooden table to allow them to sit down while she stood by her oven.  Mr. Peters spoke first.

"Miss Godwin, can you tell me again what you saw that night."  Miss Godwin took a breath, and then started to talk.

"I was just outside my front door; coming in for the night.  I then heard a growl, just as I was reaching for the door.  I turned my head towards the noise and saw the most horrible thing.  Its eyes were red like the embers of a burning fire and it's face all mulled and decrepit.  It looked right at me, I thought it would charge, but then it turned away, leaving me in anguish."

"That was the same thing that attacked me."  Clara stated adding to the conversation.

"And you have no idea where it came from?"  The Master asked, ignoring Clara, speaking directly to Miss Godwin.

"No sir, I do not."  The Master leaned forward a bit.

"If you don't mind me asking, what were you doing that night?" 

Miss Godwin stiffened and quickly said, "Just taking a walk, is that so wrong?"

The Master smiled smoothly, "Not at all Miss Godwin, just trying to piece together some things."   Mr. Peters stood up and walked over to her.

"Miss Godwin, now, I need to think very clearly, do you remember anything about this dog that could help us, like which way it came from?"  He asked her.

She shook her head, "No, I was too startled by the beast to notice anything."

"Thank you, Miss Godwin, we'll keep in touch."  Mr. Peters said as he headed towards the door while The Master gave her a smile then followed him.  Clara stood there for a few moments staring at her.  _I swear I know her from somewhere._ She thought to herself, then said out loud.

"I'm sorry for staring, but do I know you?"  Miss Godwin looked taken aback.

"I'm sorry, Miss Oswald, but I had never seen you before in my life."  Clara was a bit embarrassed.

"Right, I'll just be going then."  She scurried out the door to catch up to Mr. Peters and The Master, only to realize that they were nowhere in sight.  "Oh great."  She turned around to go back inside, but the door slammed shut.  "Alright, I'll just make due then."  She started to head towards town to ask for directions, when something caught her eye.  Just at the side of Miss Godwin's house, Clara saw a pool of some dark thick liquid.  She walked up to it, noticing there was not just one pool, but many; particularly in a line.  She smiled to herself.  "'Not a job for a woman?' well we'll just see about that."  She exclaimed as she followed the dark path of liquid.


	8. Chapter 8

"Where is Miss Oswald?" Mr. Peters asked looking around. He and The Master have been walking back to the house for a few minutes now.

"I thought things were awfully quiet." The Master responded without any concern in his voice. Mr. Peters drastically spun around a few times before The Master sighed and said, "I better go look for her then."

"I'll come with you!" Mr. Peters said excitedly.

"Um, no... I got this. You go back to your wife now." The Master said quickly as he walked away. _Annoying little humans._

"Right, I'll just go back then!" Mr. Peters yelled, as The Master was a few feet away from him, rolling his eyes. _Clara better not have gotten herself into any trouble._ He thought to himself, slightly worried. _Wait, what? No! I can't be worried! She is just a silly little human!_ _I just can't let her ruin my plans, yeah, that's it._ He silently denied, shaking off the feeling and getting back to his mission.

* * *

Clara continued to follow the dark liquid through alleys. She had absolutely no idea where she was going, and she lost sight of any living thing. The alleyways were musky and moist, which brought out the smell of the dark liquid. It smelled halfway between rotting meet and motor oil. Once in a while there was streams of light shining through reflecting on the liquid making it appear a dark shade of red. _What is this stuff?_ Clara thought to herself, bending closer to the reddish-black liquid. She looked back up to continue following the path, but it led into a wall. Clara picked up her skirt and marched over to the dead end, looking for a possible entrance way. Nothing.

Clara huffed, staring at the wall. She raised her hands and started smacking at it, maybe there was a possible secret passage. Just then she felt a hand on her shoulder making her jump and scream.

"Will you be quiet? Do you want the whole neighborhood to think something is up?" Clara turned around to see the face that was nagging her. It was The Master.

"Oh, what do you want?" Clara requested, putting her hands on her hips.

"I was looking for you!" The Master responded in an obvious tone, "And here you are beating up a wall."

"I wasn't beating up a wall! I was looking for a secret passage! I wouldn't even be here if you haven't wondered off!"

"Wondered off? You're the one in some dark alley smacking the heck out of inanimate objects! And I thought I was insane!" He teased her, smirking again.

"Oh forget it, you are no use, but also, in my defense, I was following that dark liquid path. The Master turned around, looking all over.

"What liquid path?" He asked confused.

"That one right... there..." Clara trailed off; the liquid path was gone from sight. "I swore it was right there!" The Master came up and grabbed her arm.

"Alright Miss Oswald, enough of this nutter business, that's reserved for me." He said dragging her along. Her feet dragged along as he pulled her towards him, but while Clara was being dragged, her heal got stuck in a crack in the stone floor. She felt her heal sink down in the crack, causing her to trip into The Master's arms.

"For god's sake! Watch where you're-" He stopped short, peering over her shoulder. Clara followed his gaze to see the stone wall, but this time it was moving! It split down the middle with dust and dirt blowing off from the vibrations. The two sides than disappeared into the perpendicular walls.

"I meant to do that." Clara said. Realizing that she was still in his grasp, she slightly blushed and lightly pushed herself away, straightened her skirt, and then marched towards the hidden passage. The Master stared at her blankly, then smirked as he followed her in.

The passage was dark, much darker than the alleyway. It had stonewalls and a stone floor with stone stairs leading down. Some of them were covered with moss and a few brown, scruffy rats ran across them now and again. Clara yelped slightly when this happened, making The Master chuckle behind her. "Humans." He muttered.

"And I guess the big, bad Time Lord isn't scared of anything then." Clara responded.

"At a rat? No." The stairs ended at the now smooth, stone floor. The walls were lined with torches, casting fain, dim lights across the tomb. Clara turned around to sass back at him, but he was only a few inches behind her and the close proximity caught her off guard, making her sassy remark more of a whisper.

"Then what are you scared of?" Clara asked, warily. He stared at her for what seemed like minutes for her. He just glared at her, but Clara thought she could see a hint of sadness behind his eyes. He opened his mouth slightly like her was about to answer then quickly closed it, cocking his head, motioning for her to follow as he swiftly walked around her. Clara released the breath she didn't know she was holding then quickly followed behind him.

They reached an arched door. It was made of wood and had a big handle with a lock at the bottom of it. Clara marched up to it, trying to open it. It wouldn't budge. The Master rolled his eyes then moved her to the side and used all his strength to shove the door open, breaking off some of the wood around the handle. It was murky inside and it smelled like rusted metal. The Master grabbed a torch off the wall. Standing to the side of the door, he gestured with his arm. "Ladies first." He said as he smirked.

Clara sighed, picking up her skirt, she marched through the door, with The Master close behind her, carrying a torch he took form the wall. The Master made his way in front of Clara; he took the torch and held it up in front of him and Clara gasped.

Rusted metal filled the room; piles upon piles all laid out on wooden tables that looked like they were about to fall apart. The Master moved the torch over to the corner; there stood a large machine. Its very old, like it was built out of old salvaged parts. The levers didn't match and the cords coming out of it looked like they could shock you at the slightest touch. Next to it, there was a metal table (with the same salvaged look to it) that had a hook sticking up out of it. It was bent slightly forward to hold the cords that were dangling from it.

"What is this stuff?" Clara whispered, coming up behind The Master. "It looks like some kind of lab."

"That's exactly what it is," The Master answered, walking up to the machine, "It's an energy transfer." He said, looking excited. "Do you see that cord there?" He asked pointing to the cord coming out from the top and reaching up through the celling.

"Yeah." Clara replied, scooting a bit closer to get a better look. The Master smiled.

"It draws electricity through there, pulling it into the machine. Then over here," He said, taking Clara by the arm to move closer to the table, "This is where the energy comes back out." He said pointing to the two cords hanging from the hook.

"But where does it go?" Clara asked amused at how excited The Master seemed.

"I don't know." He simply replied, looking over the machine. Clara smiled up at him, making him look down at her. "What?"

"Nothing," Clara said looking away, "It's just that you remind me of him." The Master sighed; he knew that she was talking about The Doctor. She looked back up at him. He could see the sadness and longing in her eyes.

"I'm sorry." He said it before he even knew what he was saying. There was just something in her eyes telling him that he should. Clara was shocked; she definitely did not see that coming. Clara nodded, accepting his apology.

"Well," Clara said after a short while staring at him, "We better get back then." Clara grabbed the torch from his hand and headed towards the door leaving The Master standing by the machine.

"You asked me what I was scared of." He said abruptly, causing Clara to stop and stare back at him. His eyes met hers as he moved his hand up to his head and pointed. Realization dawned on her.

"The drums." She remembered. He nodded; dropping his hand and walked closer to her.

"I feel like they're tearing out my insides, driving me mad. When I was a child, I would try to get the sound out," he chuckled to himself without humor, "I'm not going to tell you how, but lets just say it made me regenerate a few times. Over the years I learned to endure it and accept it. It's part of me now... I don't know who I would be without it." He didn't know why he was telling her all this, something inside of him just said that he should trust her.

Clara finally saw it - the sadness in his eyes coming up front. The Master quickly looked away from her, dropping his gaze. Without thinking, Clara put her hand on his shoulder and he turned his gaze back towards her. His eyes were soft, not the hateful glare that she is so use to seeing.

"We all feel that way sometimes, like we're going mad," Clara said, "Even if it's not in the way you are, but I can try to understand what you are going through." The Master was shocked, nobody has ever tried to understand, not even The Doctor; he just thought he was going mad.

"Thank you." He replied, nodding his head. He felt like a weight was lifted from him; putting his trust in this tiny human was not something he would ever see himself doing, but here he was.

"You're welcome." Clara said with a smile. Little did they know, but this was the start of their friendship and a massive journey ahead of them.


End file.
